Gastronomic tour of Flanders

Having left for another country, a person first admires and marvels at its architecture. Streets and lanes are the face of any city. Looking at them, you understand how indigenous people live and what they care about. Having admired the architecture, the traveler pays attention to the behavior and speech of the “natives”. It's the character of the city. Digging into the mentality of foreigners, you see the path of development of the country, find the relationship between the temperament of the population and its history. And then you try the local dishes. It's the heart of the country. Their taste explains what people love, what they care about, what they enjoy. That is why gastronomic tourism has always been popular – it is impossible to understand the country without trying the culinary delights of its best chefs and traditional dishes familiar to locals.

Cooking tours are one of the many reasons to make a trip to Belgium. The streets of this country are saturated with the unique aroma of bitter chocolate and hot waffles. Belgium is also special because on its territory there is a culinary mecca of Europe - Flanders. Belgium has gathered the best chefs in this region who feel the satisfaction of life only if they change the taste of a traditional dish beyond recognition, or create something fundamentally new. What is interesting, due to the fact that the ingredients for Flemish cuisine are mostly ordinary vegetables and fruits - a gastronomic tour of these parts can afford a person with absolutely any budget.

You can’t think of yourself as a gourmet if you haven’t tasted Flemish shrimp, cheese, or beer, and don’t know the term rebellious Flemish cuisine. The best chefs of this country decided not to follow the European traditions of gastronomic conservatism. Their culinary heritage is not only preserved, but also changed, and continue to change every day. That is why in Belgium, poets, musicians, scientists and revolutionaries loved and loved to relax. The enchanting symbiosis of history and the future that lurks in every Flemish dish inspires, soothes and gives hope, makes you love yourself and others, and in the end, colors life in completely new, bright and rich colors.

Despite the modest size of Belgium, the variety of cuisine of this country can be envied. Each town considers it an honor to surpass its “geographical neighbors-competitors” in the eternal struggle for a satisfied and well-fed smile of the visitor. Therefore, only after visiting restaurants in Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges and Ghent, you can say with confidence: "I know Belgian cuisine."

Antwerp. This city doesn't follow fashion, it creates it. Beverage lovers should try the Bolleke dark beer, or the delicious Elixir d’Anve liqueur. Thanks to the first drink, you will be instantly immersed in the medieval royal feast, the second will give you a taste of the future. Locals are also proud of Antwerp Pens cookies. Famous restaurants of the town will offer gourmet ease and freshness of dishes that are second only to their originality. The ingredients familiar to us - condensed milk, honey, coffee, are woven in gastronomic tango with Flemish herbs and form a taste that seemed impossible for earthlings.

Bruges. Oh, this city is famous not only for its beauty and fabulous serenity. A gastronomic trip through its surroundings you will remember unusual chocolate, the taste of which is not reproduced outside the city. Restaurants in Bruges will surprise you with a modern interpretation of traditional European dishes. Young chefs like Frederick Decainink honor history, but even more want to unleash the flavor potential of each ingredient and create the quintessence of uniqueness. This city will prove to you that you did not know half the taste of vegetables and fruits that you ate throughout your life.

Brussels. Do not be fooled by the superficial grayness of the city. This city gave home to many peoples and cultures, and they, in turn, made it the world capital of painting, fashion and good cuisine. The famous Brussels biscuits and the Cantillon brewery are just small cogs in the gastronomic mechanism of the city. And the whole mechanism is simply impossible to describe. It’s such an intricacy of East and West, tradition and innovation that you can spend weeks walking from restaurant to restaurant, each time repeating to yourself – it can’t be better, and every time you make a mistake. In addition, every Brussels dish is an undoubted visual masterpiece.

Gent. The city is so beautiful that even the locals feel like eternal tourists. Ghent is a place that will let you walk through a history book. Every house is a new year, a street a decade, a quarter a century. Chefs with a worldwide reputation consider it an honor to visit this city and exchange knowledge with colleagues. Ghent restaurants prefer to deal with natural products. Each ingredient is grown in the best conditions and thoroughly tested before use. Taste and health is the motto of the chefs from Ghent. But the city also has its own piquant side. Meat delicacies, many varieties of beer, a persistent aroma of cinnamon and spices "grute". You have the right to decide what to try and what memories to come home with. Honestly, you have to try everything.

Flanders is a place that is very easy to reach, a place that will turn your head with the unity of past and present. A place where you will discover a new facet of the word “delicious” and realize that it is synonymous with the word “delicious”. A place that is financially accessible to everyone and that everyone needs. Breathing in the Belgian air, understanding their culture and trying out the cuisine, you’ll want to go back there, and you’ll come back. Traveling to Flanders will first become a hobby, then a passion, and eventually a necessity.